Tuesday 15 August 2017

1994-11-26 - End of Year Party @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

My second gig was the very 1994 lineup of "End of Year Party" - The Truth, CBD, Tina Arena, Kulcha, The Sharp, Chocolate Starfish.


Looking at the ticket, the event appears to have been an all-ages charity event for Ronald McDonald House. The ticket also reminds me that we had seated tickets, but we ignored that and ran into the middle of general admission as soon as we got there.

My friend Mik and I attended to see The Sharp, with the added bonus of the recently discovered The Truth. We had zero interest in the other acts.

We were one of the few fans of The Truth from memory. Most of the crowd were not interested. We'd recently discovered them and had bought their album and knew all the words. We must have been very annoying. I remember they didn't play particularly well compared to the previous time, but I may be misremembering how great they were the first time.

CBD were from all evidence a horrible boy band so we didn't expect much. They were exactly as expected, but I have a strong memory of their bass player playing a fantastic funk solo in the middle of the set, which earned a grudging round of applause from us.

During Tina Arena's set the guy in front of us kept yelling about Mickey Mouse or something (likely confusing Young Talent Time...) - during this rant Mik threw a bottle on stage, which resulted in us being swiftly evicted from the venue.

So blissfully we missed Kulcha while we wondered off and got a drink.

We sat out front and sang loudly along when The Sharp started. The bouncers eventually got sick of us and let us back in with a slap on the wrist.

The Sharp were fantastic. It was hard to see, and I was pathetic and scared of the mosh, but the crowd pogo'd like maniacs which the band loved. It was all over far too quick, my strongest memory being the moment at the start of Train of Thought where Piet comes out from behind the drumkit to use his sticks on the double-bass while Alan rides it... Great stuff.

Chocolate Starfish were pretty terrible. The singer kept sticking his microphone down his pants. It wasn't something we were interested in so we left early.

Friday 11 August 2017

1994-10-15 - Where 2 Be? @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

The first gig I ever attended was a four band spectacular at Festival Hall. Attending with a couple of friends, we were there for Caligula and Hunters and Collectors. We'd never heard of The Truth and were barely concious of Baby Animals beyond some singles.

I remember going with my friend Mik, but my notes remind me another friend was there to. I'm guessing it was Emmanuel, but I'm not sure. I've completely forgotten... A lot of firsts that night. First time I remember coming to the city, first time out by myself late...

The Truth were absolutely amazing. The drum solo in Peak It blew our minds. Cow. Bell. I became a fan of the band that day, and arguably, of live music too. First gig in and I already thought seeing things live was better than the album.

Caligula were heaps of fun, but not many people in the crowd were fans. They're... odd. They used a lot of samples in an era that was frowned upon.

Baby Animals opened my mind. Suze DeMarchi rewrote my idea of what a front-person should be (at the time pretty much James Hetfield or go home). Her guitar playing was incredible and they sounded so ROCK, much harder than the album I later found on tape.

I thought I knew Hunters & Collectors but really I'd only heard a few singles and the "Cut" album. So I was a little lost through much of the gig to be honest. It was a long night too. I still had fun, and resolved to get more of their music.

No earplugs... My ears rang for a good two days after this gig, and I blame much of the tinnitus I have today on this gig.